Lose-lose situation in Cyprus

Sir,
Unfortunately the present state of play in the Cyprus issue is increasingly blurring my vision and killing my hope as to the prospects of a solution based on the Anna plan in the near future.

As opposed to Turkish Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots voiced a resounding ‘no’ in the referendum on April 24, 2004, and because of this, the UN Secretary-general openly and rightfully expressed in his related report to the Security Council that unless he sees “in clarity and finality” the Greek Cypriot demands for change in his comprehensive settlement plan, unless he sees enough will and determination for a real compromise from both sides on the island, he will not attempt to give an official start to a new process of negotiations.

The Turkish Cypriot side has clearly expressed readiness to negotiate changes to the Annan plan, which would accommodate further concerns of the sides, provided that the overall balance therein would not be upset. Yet all the indications from the last Annan initiative through his Political Adviser Sir Kieran Prendergast, point to the fact that Greek Cypriot demands for change are perfectly in line with all the related Greek Cypriot National Council resolutions, which are tantamount to dramatically shifting the inherent balance of the Annan plan towards Greek Cypriot concerns.

As for the Greek Cypriot concerns, I will cite only the gist of them as perceived by most, if not all, of the Turkish Cypriots. The main aim is to reduce the equal partnership status of the Turkish Cypriots to “a minority in a Greek Cypriot dominated State of Cyprus”.

This gist is contrary to the gist of the Annan plan, which, if anything, reflects the cumulative perception over many years, of the UN, EU ad all other key players, as to the nature of, and the appropriate remedy for the Cyprus problem.

I am afraid that the Greek Cypriot failure to take the Annan plan seriously will create a lose-lose situation whereby Turkish Cypriots will continue to suffer from the negative effects of the stalemate and the Greek Cypriots will be increasingly alienated from the whole world.
Nuri Hasan, Nicosia

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.